Marcus Mariota shines on Letterman

Oklahoma QB Blake Bell to switch to tight end

Bob Stoops has a new tight end next season. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Oklahoma quarterback Blake Bell will play his final season with the Sooners as a tight end.

“With the positive momentum of how Trevor played throughout that (Sugar Bowl) game and coming off that, we want to try and build off that,” Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said, according to The Oklahoman. “That being the case, we’re excited that even though Blake can graduate and go somewhere else, he wants to stay here and finish out and wants to try tight end.”

Bell was the Sooners' starting quarterback for eight games in 2013 before sophomore Trevor Knight took over. Knight helped lead the Sooners to a 45-31 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

Bell's position switch removes questions about whether he would stay at Oklahoma. Bell could have sought to play elsewhere through graduate transfer rules, but instead decided to finish out his career as a Sooner.

“Blake has the size, the athleticism and the speed to (play tight end),” Stoops said. “He has exhibited his toughness through the years. I think it’ll be a great fit for him. He’s already working on that, and it’s something we’ll see in the spring.”

The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Bell completed 60 percent of his passes in 2013, throwing 12 touchdowns to five interceptions.